Page 76 - Faith: The Way to Happiness

FAITH: THE WAY TO HAPPINESS

They are Pleased with Allah's Mercy and
His people
As has been emphasized in previous sections, the happiness of
people in the community of the ignorant is dependent on worldly
life and the extent to which they can take advantage of it. All their af-
fection and respect for one another as well as their relations with
each other are based on materialistic criteria. They have convinced
themselves that in this way they will lead a happy and tranquil life.
H o w e v e r, there is one thing which they forget or ignore every time.
Human happiness depends not on comfort in material terms but on
spiritual comfort and tranquility. Whether a person is rich or poor, he
cannot be happy unless he feels spiritual calm and comfort. In the
community of the ignorant, this materialistic drive pushes people in
the direction of a bottomless pit, for it is a source of trouble. Allah de-
scribes this situation in the Qur'an:
Do not let their wealth and children impress you. Allah
merely wants to punish them by them during their life in
this world and for them to expire while they are disbeliev-
ers. (Surat at-Tawba: 55)
As Allah tells us in the Qur'an, no matter how much pro p e r t y
they acquire and accumulate and no matter how far they impro v e
their status, unbelievers will gain nothing but torment and misery.
Because they do not understand the beauty and the comfort which
the guidance of the Qur'an can bring them, they try to fill their spiri-
tual vacuum with fleeting worldly gains. Believers naturally experi-
ence spiritual contentment because they have faith in Allah and
worship only Him. In a verse of the Qur'an, Allah defines believers
as those who "humble themselves before their Lord" because this sat-
isfies their hearts. He also brings them the good news of Paradise:

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